Sorting It Out
by Kathryn Claire O'Connor
Summary: Fifth in the Polygamy Project Series! Tony has a decision to make, but will he let his head's demand for normalcy get in the way of his heart's desire for happiness?
1. Chapter 1

**Here we are: the fifth story in "The Polygamy Project" series with the story that you guys wanted to see next - Tony's! This is a three-shot. Enjoy!:)**

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"Tony?"

There were footsteps coming down the basement steps of duplex three into the man cave, but Tony didn't really register what that meant as he stared off into the middle distance.

"Hey, Tony?"

This time there was a hand on the Italian's shoulder to accompany the voice, and it broke through Anthony DiNozzo's daze a little as his eyes flickered up to register McGee standing over him. "Hey," Tony replied softly, still distracted as he toyed with the can of sprite in his hands.

"Are you feeling okay?" McGee asked in concern, sliding onto the barstool beside Tony. "Ziva called; she and Ellie didn't know where you were and they seemed a little worried about you. They asked me to come over and check down here for them because of the no-girls-or-kids allowed rule."

Tony brushed him off a little gruffly. "I'm fine."

"You're sitting alone in a dark albeit cushy basement at four a.m. drinking a sprite," McGee pointed out. "That doesn't sound like 'fine' to me."

"I've heard that sprite is supposed to settle your stomach."

McGee nodded, looking over at him insightfully. The silence stretched between the two coworkers for a minute before Tim suggested slowly, "Are you sure that it's your stomach and not your mind that needs settling?"

"Why would you think that?" Tony asked, trying to pretend that he didn't know the exact answer to that question.

"Well, it was a pretty big deal to everyone, Ziva showing back up the way that she did – and right after you and Ellie had practically said that you were going to try your hand at a relationship."

"A _fake_ relationship because of this dumb polygamy project," Tony corrected.

"Tony," McGee said, looking at him with a completely not-fooled expression. "First it was Kate, then it was Ziva – and it obviously still is – and now there's Ellie. I know what it looks like when you fall for your partner."

Tony sighed, muttering into the semi-darkness, "I'm in over my head, McGeek."

"You love them both."

It was a statement, not a question, and Tony knew better then to do anything but nod, keeping his gaze fastened on the can in his hands as he did so.

"Are both Ziva and Ellie aware of your all feelings within this entire situation?"

"What are my feelings, McGee?" Tony asked in exasperation, louder than he had meant to. He lowered his voice again when he said, "Okay, here's what I do know: for some reason, over the last week and a half that we've been here, Ziva and Ellie have taken it upon themselves to become pals, which is great, fine, it makes my part in this project a whole lot easier. I also know that you, Delilah, and Abby have decided to actually go the whole polygamy route permanently, and for you guys that's great. But here's the thing – and it's a thing that surprised me, make no mistake – this whole 'two wives' thing? It's hard!"

"Uh-huh," McGee nodded with a knowing smile. "What's your point?"

"That brings us to the things that I don't know, but thought I did. Item number one: that first day we came here, when I saw Ziva get out of that car… that was like nothing I had ever felt before; I determined then and there that I was going to convince her to stay here with me for good instead of leaving again, but then I got to spending more time with her – on a more personal, non-work-related level – and those original, small feelings for her blossomed. So now, where I thought I knew which one of them I wanted, I have no idea which one to choose. Although I guess there is a chance that I'm doing all of this worrying for nothing, since I haven't exactly just asked Ellie if she feels anything for me in return. I know we said that first day that we weren't actually going to get involved romantically – that anything we did would just be for the sake of the project – but, here's the thing: I think that the same thing that's been happening to me in relation to growing feelings for her has been happening to her too in relation to her getting feelings for me." Tony groaned, dropping his head onto the counter as he whined, "I don't know how to choose!"

"Tony, you know what I'm going to tell you, don't you?" McGee asked.

Tony's voice was muffled as he asked, "What?"

"Why choose between them? Why not choose both of them?"

"Because I'm Catholic, not FLDS."

"And I'm a Lutheran, Delilah's a Southern Baptist, and Abby has no religious affiliation whatsoever. Polygamy doesn't have to be a religious choice, Tony; it doesn't have anything to do with a faith. It sure doesn't for me and my wives. It's just about loving one another, Tony, and wanting to be a family. I love both Delilah and Abby, they both love me, and they've become each other's best friend. Yes, it's hard, and, yes, it takes work, but I really do think that it's going to be worth it at the end of the day.

"You're not the only one stumbling in the dark here, you know; nobody really knows what they're doing with this polygamy thing. We've each tried to find a rhythm and something that works for each family unit, but for some of us, it's just been harder to find that than others."

"It sure seemed easy for you," Tony snorted bitterly. "You and your two women just jumped right in with both feet."

"We decided that first day to try it, yes," McGee agreed before confessing, "But there's no way that I ever would have even thought about doing this long term were it not for Delilah and Abby; they were already talking about polygamy before we got word of this project, and their wanting to try it was the only reason that I agreed to do so."

"Really?" Tony asked in surprise. "Abs and Delilah were actually _advocating_ sharing a husband?"

McGee nodded, suggesting carefully, "Maybe you ought to bring up the idea with Ziva and Ellie."

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**Hopefully you guys enjoyed this! Reviews are my new best friend if you feel inclined to drop me one! Thanks!:)**


	2. Chapter 2

"You do really love her, don't you?"

Ellie's soft voice floated into Tony's fading consciousness the next night, dragging him back into at least semi-wakefulness as he emitted a muffled groan.

He was too out of it to think before he murmured, "I think the better question here is do you love me."

Ellie didn't give him a straight answer, saying, "That doesn't matter if you love Ziva."

"I'm pretty sure that by now, everyone knows that I love Ziva… but I want you to know that I love you too." He laughed quietly, his sleeplessness from the last week rendering him about as capable of thinking as he would've been in the midst of a hangover. "Fine mess that puts us in, huh?"

"Unless we want to pull a McGee," Ellie said casually before rolling over and going off to sleep.

But her comment had Tony wide awake for what he knew would be the rest of the night.

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"Good morning, Tony," Ziva greeted him as he came down the stairs and into the kitchen the next morning.

"Morning," he said absently, laying a kiss on Ellie's scalp as he passed her sitting at the bar and then on Ziva's cheek as he walked past where she was standing buttering her toast on his way to the coffee maker.

He saw the two women share a look with one another before he turned back around to face them, a mug of the strong, black brew now in his hands.

"Tony," Ellie started warily. "Do you remember what I mentioned last night before you and I went to sleep?"

"Polygamy. What else does anyone talk about in this place?"

"Do you remember what angle of it I approached?"

"Do you mean the part where you told me your feelings didn't matter or the part where you suggested we 'pull a McGee'?"

Ellie cringed. "That last part."

"Yes, I remember it, but, listen, can we please not have this big of a conversation while we're trying to get ready for work?"

"I could meet the two of you for lunch somewhere, if that would work," Ziva suggested.

Tony glanced at Ellie for confirmation and then nodded. "Alright."

Twenty minutes later, he had given his Israeli "first wife" a goodbye kiss at the door of forty-one Federal Lane and slid into the driver's seat of his car beside Ellie, heading into work. Once there, Tony found himself heading straight for the coffeemaker for the second time that morning. McGee met him there.

"How are you doing since we talked in the man cave?" McGee asked softly enough that only Tony could hear. "Have you talked to Ziva and Ellie about where they're at in this thing?"

"Not exactly," Tony grumbled. "They got to me first. Ellie mentioned it last night and again this morning. We've got a lunch date with Ziva to talk about it later."

McGee nodded approvingly. "Sounds like a good idea."

"All it sounds like to me is that Ziva and Ellie have been spending too much time with Abby and Delilah."

McGee opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off when each man received a sharp slap across the back of the head along with the gruff question, "Since when are your desks at the coffee maker? Get to work."

Tony and McGee ducked past Gibbs, muttering twin, "Sorry, boss"es. The sniper had become an even more formidable force than usual, thanks to living with five women – most of whom were his ex-wives.

Ellie sent Tony a pitying look from across the room as he slid into his desk. He shrugged at her carelessly, completely understanding how his boss could be so frustrated. He couldn't imagine how he would be if his "wife" problems were multiplied two and a half times over. He was nervous enough over his upcoming lunch plans as it was.

Then he heard Gibbs utter the immortal words "We've got a body," and Tony gladly kissed his lunch plans goodbye so that he could find a murder rather than face his "marital issues."

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But as the two week mark signifying the end of the official polygamy project began to loom impossibly close and the team's workload did nothing to allow Tony and Ellie any time at home, he began to realize that Ziva and Ellie were going to start going to drastic measures to have the conversation. Tony might have been more than happy to ignore the fact, but that didn't mean that the decision wasn't still there and needing to be made.

This all culminated with an impromptu team lunch in Ducky's morgue, of all places. Ducky had been smart enough to find somewhere else to eat when he saw the influx of humanity into his part of the NCIS headquarters, but there were plenty of others there in his stead. Ellie was sitting cross-legged on top of one of the autopsy tables, and Ziva was sitting beside her, legs dangling off the table. Tony, Abby, and McGee were all standing around another table while Delilah – who had come just for the occasion thanks to a call from Abby – was sitting at Ducky's desk. Palmer was leaning up against a wall, ankles crossed as he ate one of the sub sandwiches that Ziva had picked up for them all on her way over.

"So," Delilah drawled. "Tomorrow's the end of the project, huh?"

The others nodded.

"Are you going to stick around us a little longer, Ziva?" Abby asked hopefully.

Tony saw Ziva nibble her lip a little before she answered, "I've been working on translating a couple of instruction manuals into Hebrew, and I intend to stay in the states at least until those are finished."

"Yay!"

"How much longer do you think that'll be?" Delilah asked curiously.

"Another two weeks, at least, I would think."

Abby actually started doing a happy dance at that, and everyone in the room had to smile.

"So," Delilah asked Ellie and Ziva, "How's that other thing going that we've discussed?"

Tony muttered to Tim, thoroughly disgruntled, "I told you it was your girls' fault."

"That doesn't make it any less your decision," Tim shot back.

Tony muttered something unintelligible as Ziva answered vaguely, "We're working on it."

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**Hopefully you guys enjoyed this! Reviews are my new best friend if you feel inclined to drop me one! Thanks!:)**


	3. Chapter 3

**I must admit that I myself am little surprised at the way that Palmer's starting to find his own voice inside of this whole series of stories... Just saying.**

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"Work a little harder," Delilah suggested. "You guys are seriously down to the wire here; time's of the essence."

"Tell him that," Ziva requested, nodding in Tony's direction.

Delilah shot him a look that had Tony demanding of Tim, "Did you tell her what we talked about earlier this week?"

"No!"

"Did you tell Abby? Because Abby would tell her."

"No, I didn't!" McGee insisted before saying calmly, "Listen, Tony, you tend to be a bit of an open book when it comes to how you feel about women; it's not hard to figure out that you like them both. I get that; I understand it completely. So why not just take a chance and give polygamy an honest try instead of being afraid of it? For someone who likes to call himself a ladies' man, I'm surprised that you're so scared of the idea."

"But… it's just so… unorthodox!" Tony protested. "And hard!"

Ziva slid down from the table, approaching Tony as she said, "And if there's any two things that Anthony DiNozzo is afraid of it's being different and working hard."

Tony's eyes snapped, and he actually heard himself say, "Has it ever occurred to you that maybe another problem here might be that I don't want to hurt you or Ellie? Polygamy is obviously something that's hard on the wives too."

"Tony," Ellie said evenly, making her approach. "If this was something that we weren't okay with, we never would've brought it up in a serious context like this."

"It is hard to see you and Ellie when you're being affectionate towards one another, yes," Ziva said. "I won't deny that, but has it ever occurred to _you_ that Ellie and I just want to see you happy, even if that does mean you take both of us as your wives?"

"Who says that makes me happy?" Tony asked. "So far it's only served to stress me out!"

"No," Ellie answered, "That's not true. It only stresses you out when you over think it. When it's just you and I, or just you and Ziva, or just the three of us enjoying an evening doing something fun together – when you're not thinking about it, and just doing it – then you're happy. As a matter of fact, that's when you're honestly the happiest that I've ever seen you." She asked softly, "Do you want to know why I think that is?"

"Why?" he snapped.

"For one thing, because you've missed Ziva. I didn't realize it until I started paying attention after Michael died, but you were grieving like somebody's widower, and in the past two weeks, that has stopped."

Tony wanted to refute it, but he honestly knew that she was right on that point, so he kept his mouth shut, just pressing his lips into an even thinner line as Ziva took up with a different point.

"And here's another thing, Tony. You don't do well with repressed emotions. When you started getting to know Ellie, you started to fall for her, but you were bound and determined that no woman was ever going to put you through that again, so you kept your thoughts to yourself, and began to eat at you. This project gave you an outlet for that, and you were able to be a little more relaxed once you got your feelings for her off your chest."

"That's stupid!" he snapped, looking at both of them. "All of it is!"

"Then pick one, Tony." It was Palmer finally speaking, standing up straight and looking him frankly in the eye as he asked evenly, "Who do you love more, Ziva or Ellie?"

Tony's eyes darted wildly between Palmer, Ziva, and Ellie, before landing back on the man with glasses.

"You can't, can you?" Palmer asked softly. "Because as much as you love Ziva, and as much of a history as you share with her, Bishop is just as beautiful to you, and just as irreplaceable, and just as special. So you can't choose."

Tony slumped it defeat as he realized the truth of what was being flung at him from all directions.

"Do you want to know what I've found to be the most fascinating thing about these polygamous trios that all of us are in?" Tony looked at him wordlessly, and Palmer continued, "It's not that your relationship with one of the women doesn't work without the other woman there, it's that your relationship as a whole – as a family – works _better_ with the three personalities in it. It isn't that without Abby, McGee and Agent Fielding wouldn't be able to make it – we all know better than that – but McGee and Agent Fielding are better _people _– the atmosphere in their house is lighter – with Abby in their family too. It's not that Breena and I can't raise Summer on our own, because we could, but having Anna around just makes it so much easier and less stressful. It isn't that you and Ziva couldn't figure out all your scuffles without Bishop there if you wanted to – because we all know better than that too – it's just that Bishop's a wonderful negotiator and voice of reason, and a buffer between the two of you in all your petty spats. It's not that these relationships between us and these women wouldn't work monogamously, it's that we've found that they work better – that they _are_ better, that _we_ are better – if they're polygamous. So what if it isn't orthodox; it's what works best for us. Maybe it's not for you – and if not, I'm sure that's fine – but it just seems stupid to me to throw away the one chance you'll ever have to find out just because you're afraid of finding that something that is different works well for you."

Palmer shrugged, glancing around himself, flushing a little in embarrassment as he seemed to remember the rest of the people in the room.

Tony sighed, knowing that once again, someone else had been right. Honestly, the way Palmer had just put it made sense – made it seem a little less weird then he still knew it was.

"Are you sure that you would be okay with this?" Tony asked carefully, looking to Ziva first for an answer.

She grinned at him, taking one of his hands as she said, "I'm sure."

Tony looked to the blonde at his other side, asking, "Ellie?"

"I'm sure," she answered, grasping his other hand.

He took a deep breath, searching both sets of eyes and seeing no hint of anything close to doubt – only some happiness and determination, and even a little relief.

He took a deep breath, squeezing both women's hand as he admitted what he had been fighting for the past week, but had just been dredging up the courage to admit, "Then I'm sure too."

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**Thus we come to the end of this story. Hopefully you guys enjoyed this! Reviews are my new best friend if you feel inclined to drop me one! Thanks!:)**


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